Method for preparing a tilted nib



Nov. 1, 1966 H. R. FEHLING ETAL 3,281,933

METHOD FOR PREPARING A TILTED NIB 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 29, 1965 1 NVENTORS Nov. 1, 1966 R FEHUNG ETAL 3,281,933

METHOD FOR PREPARING A TILTED NIB 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1963 a G SN 2 7 m M 6 N R MJ rm F WM P T d [IV HNN A 0 7 m 0 NEE 2 2). 2 :0 M 1 s RES H E BY ALFR JAME 1 their Nov. 1,

H. R. FEHLING ET AL METHOD FOR PREPARING A TILTED NIB Filed May 29, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. I?

IAN ENTORS HANS REINHARD FEHLING, EDWARD HENRY HARVEY,

BY ALFRED DENNIS STREET a kzgwwlaqnjAMEs JOHFQETEMAQ their ATTORNEYS United States Patent ()fiice 3,281,933 METHOD FOR PREPARING A TILTED NIB Hans Reinhard Fehiing, Zug, Switzerland, and Edward Henry Harvey, London, Alfred Dennis Street, Pinner, Middlesex, and .lames John Paternan, West Harrow, Middlesex, England, assignors to IJRJC. Limited, London, England, a company of Great Britain Fitted May 29, 1963, Ser. N o. 284,175 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 1, 1962, 21,137/62 14 Claims. (Q1. 29520) This invention relates to the writing extremity or nib of writing instruments of the ball point type, and more particularly to a new and improved tilted nib which is more convenient to use, and to methods for preparing a tilted nib. This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 110,518, filed May 16, 1961, now abandoned for Nib Housing for Ball Point Writing Instrument.

In general, the nib of a ball point writing instrument comprises a housing having a ball-receiving socket at a forward end adapted to receive a writing ball, an internal ink feed duct leading from the opposite or rearward end of the housing to the interior of the socket and axially aligned therewith, and a plurality of part-spherical base seats for the ball formed at the rear of the socket and having ink passages between them which extend from the ink feed duct to an annular cavity surrounding the ball. Forwardly of the annular cavity an inturned lip provides a part-spherical lateral seat which retains the ball in the socket.

Heretofore conventional ball point writing instruments have been provided with an elongated ink reservoir which communicates with the ink feed duct and which is axially aligned with the ink feed duct and the receiving socket. It is most convenient, however, for a normal writer to hold a writing instrument at an angle of about 40 to 50 degrees to the writing surface. As the cone angle of the rim retaining the ball in its socket is of the order of 60 to 80 degrees, it follows that only one side of the emerging part of the ball can be in touch with the writing surface and the rim itself may scrape the paper, particularly when strong pressure is applied at a shallow angle. In order to adapt the conventional writing instrument to the most convenient writing attitude of the instrument it has been proposed to off-set the writing extremity in the sense that the axis of the socket and of the part of the feed duct immediately behind the socket is inclined or tilted in relation to the longitudinal axis of the instrument so that the extremity can be held substantially perpendicular to the writing surface in the normal writing attitude of the instrument. The necessary angle in the length of the feed duct has, for example, been produced during manufacture of the writing extremity by drilling a hole from each of two opposite end-s of the work piece, the two holes being at the required angle to one another. Other proposals have suggested a bent writing extremity to accomplish this purpose.

These previous proposals for tilted nib writing instruments have not proved satisfactory for a variety of reasons. In many cases, the difficulties and/or the cost of mass manufacturing such writing extremities of consistently good quality could not be overcome. In others, no suitable method of convenient assembly of the instrument or mounting of the tilted nib could be found. The common result of these earlier efforts was that the improvements obtainable did not appear to be worth the difficulties and extra cost of producing them.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods of preparing tilted nib writing instru- 7O ments which effectively overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior tilted nib proposals.

3,281,933 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method of producing tilted nibs for ball point writing instruments.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel method for offsetting laterally the socket portion of a nib for a ball point writing instrument.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by applying to a nib blank an axial force which, or a component of which, permanently tilts the axis of the socket. In this specification the term nib blank will be used to designate a writing extremity at any intermediate manufacturing stage prior to the offsetting operation according to this invention but after the forming of the socket and feed duct, up to and including the stage at which a complete writing extremity has been formed. The invention also provides a method of producing an offset writing extremity, for a ball point writing instrument, which comprises disposing a nib blank as defined above between a collar which is arranged to engage the exterior of the forward end of the blank at a region rearwards of the .socket and an opposed member or mandrel arranged to engage the blank rearwards of the socket, and applying to the blank, by relative axial movement between the collar and said member, a force such that the axis of the socket is permanently tilted. This permits the region at which the writing extremity is tilted to be disposed closer to the socket than would be the case were the writing extremity bent by laterally applied forces. The forward end of the blank may be merely forced against the collar, or may be forced through the collar as through a die in which case the passage of the forward end of the blank through the collar will reduce the exterior dimensions of said forward end. It will be appreciated that in deforming the blank the necessary relative movement between the mandrel and the die may be effected by movement of either or both of them. The collar may engage the exterior of a tapered forward end of the blank or it may engage a collar on the exterior of the blank.

Desirably, the regions of engagement of the collar and mandrel with the blank are axially spaced. The region of engagement by the mandrel is preferably rearwards of the region of engagement by the collar. Each said region is at least one writing ball diameter, and preferably about three ball diameters, distant from the center of the ball. As hereinafter appears, it is preferred to carry out the tilting operation with the writing ball or a similar ball in situ, but since the operation may be carried out without the ball the expression center of the ball is employed herein to include the location to be occupied by the ball center. The mandrel is preferably applied to the interior of the blank. It may have a blank-engaging face shaped and/ or dimensioned to produce the required tilting effect. Best results are achieved if the mandrel is applied eccent-rically within the blank. Alternatively or in addition the mandrel may have an oblique end face. Alternatively or in ad dition the face in the blank against which the mandrel acts may be oblique.

According to an important subsidiary feature of the present invention the mandrel is a tubular member (e.g. a reservoir or adaptor) and in the act of passing the blank through the die by the force exerted by the mandrel the blank is reduced in size and is fixed to the mandrel. In order that the writing unit or refill, consisting of the nib and applied reservoir as just described, may readily be located in the appropriate angular position in the casing of a writing instrument of the type described in the copending United States application of Fehling and Street Serial No. 87,821, filed February 8, 1961, now abandoned, for Ball Point Writing Instrument wherein the axis of the writing unit is displaced laterally from the axis of the casing, the reservoir may be provided with a key or other permanent index marking. This key or index marking may be applied to the tubular member before the latter is employed as a mandrel, in which case it necessarily follows that the key or the like has a permanent relation to the plane in which the writing extremity is tilted.

In addition, this invention also provides in the production of a writing instrument of the type specified, or a component therefor, from a symmetrical nib blank having at its rear end a skirt defining an axial bore terminating in an end face spaced rearwards of the socket, and a tubular member having a reduced end fitting in the bore, a method of offsetting the nib blank as herein defined, fixing the offset writing extremity onto the reduced end, and fixing a key or guide on the tubular member in predetermined orientated relation to the offset which comprises the steps of inserting the reduced end in the bore and, by relative axial movement between the tubular member and a die having an aperture to engage the nose of the blank rearwards of the socket and a configuration appropriate to a key or guide for the unit, forcing the die over the blank onto the tubular member whereby the skirt is squeezed onto the reduced end and the die remains on the tubular member as a key or guide, which force is so applied that, in passage through the die, the nose of the blank becomes permanently tilted in a plane having a predetermined orientation with the key configuration and the socket becomes otfset from the axis of the unit or component.

In order that the invention may be better understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive illustrate stages in one representative method of providing a tilted nib according to the present invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate the stages of a second method;

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the stages of a third method;

FIG. 9 illustrates a refill having a nib made according to the present invention, incorporated in a writing instrument of the type described in the above-mentioned copending Fehling and Street application;

FIGS. 10 to 12 illustrate a method by which in a single operation the writing extremity blank is bent, fixed to a tubular member such as a reservoir, and the latter provided with a key or guide;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view;

FIG. 11 is a view showing the initial stage; and

FIG. 12 is a view showing the final stage of the operation.

In the representative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 a nib blank 16) has a tapered forward part 11, the included angle of taper being desirably 26, and a rearwardly extending skirt 12. The blank 10 is preferably of the form shown in FIG. 10 of our above-mentioned copending application for Nib Housing for Ball Point Writing Instrument and is produced by the cold forging process described therein. A cylindrical bore 13 within the skirt 12 terminates at an end face 14, forwards of which there is a reduced "bore 15 from which an axial feed duct 16 leads to an axially disposed writing ball-receiving socket 17. The socket contains the writing ball 18 and its rim or lip 19 is constricted to retain the ball in position. It is to be understood that the ball seating surfaces within the socket are at this stage completely formed and therefore the blank 10 would be capable of use as the writing extremity of a ball point pen, although for the purposes of the present invention it still requires to have certain operations performed on it.

It will be appreciated that the blank 10 should be formed of a suitably ductile metal. Suitable ductile metals are stipulated in our copending application just mentioned which provides a method of making a blank for the writing extremity of a ball point writing instrument which consists in deforming under pressure a billet of suitable ductile material within a rigid die cavity defining the exterior of the blank and the interior of the cup so that the material assumes shape of the die cavity, and also in the copending United States application of Fehling and Harvey Serial No. 277,393, filed May 1,

1963, now Patent No. 3,234,772, for Method for Forming Nib Housings and Other Small Articles which provides a method of making small articles such as a blank for the writing extremity of a ball point writing instrument. The method there described consists in arranging a plurality of self-centering billets, each of suitable ductile metal, in series and deforming them under pressure within a rigid die cavity defining the exterior of the blank and the interior of a cup, for forming the ball socket, so that the material of the billets unites and assumes the shape of the cavity. In the exercise of the present invention it is preferred to use a blank 10 made by one of these methods, for example of copper. Before applying the present invention to a nib blank however, the writing ball 18 or a similar ball is preferably placed in position and the rim or lip 19 of the ball socket 17 is constricted around the ball so as to retain the latter in position. (This constriction may produce, or impart their final form to, the ball seats.) It is important that this step in the manufacturing process shall be applied to the blank before the latter is subjected to the method provided by the present invention because this constriction process is difiicult to perform satisfactorily on a nib blank which has its socket axis tilted. It is possible to carry out the present invention with the ball removed from the socket after the constricting operation has been carried out, but it is preferred to carry out the present invention with the ball in situ in the socket.

The first of the series of operations performed on the nib blank 10 to prepare a tilted nib according to the present invention may be a drawing operation by which the diameter of the blank is reduced and the latter is elongated. For this purpose there is employed as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a drawing'die 22 having a substantially cylindrical throat 23 to which a funnel-shaped entry 24 (of preferably 16 degrees included angle) leads, and a cylindrical mandrel 25. The cylindrical mandrel 25 is of such size as to enter the bore 15 of the blank and to abut against the square end face 20 thereof. By relative movement between the die and the mandrel the blank 10 is forced through the die and is drawn out to the attenuated form shown at 10a in FIG. 2. It will be seen that in this drawing operation not only is the external diameter of the blank reduced but the diameter of the bores 13 and 15 are reduced likewise.

For the next stage, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there is employed a die 26 having a substantially cylindrical throat 27 with a conical lead-in 28 (of preferably 16 degrees angle), and a mandrel 29 having an oblique end face 30. The bore of the throat 27 is slightly smaller in diameter than the blank 10a so as to offer an adequate resistance to the passage of the blank through it and the diameter of the mandrel 29 is such that it will enter the reduced bore 15a with a very small clearance. The angle of the end face 30 is desirably half the cone angle of the extremity 11 of the blank, being therefore 13.

The mandrel 29 is applied to the interior of the blank and the point or toe of its end face 30 abuts against the end face 20 of the reduced bore 15a. The ratio between the internal and external diameters of the blank at the plane of the face 20 is within the range 0.65 to 0.85. There should be sufficient wall thickness to avoid rupture during the following operations. The blank is forced through the die by relative movement between the die and the mandrel. It will be observed that the mandrel makes off-center contact with the face 20 and either owing to the fact that the obliquity of end face 30 provides a thrust on the blank having a lateral component which creates a bending moment on the blank, and/or to the fact that one side of the blank is stretched more than the other, the forward part of the blank is tilted through an angle which is substantially the same as that of face 30. As shown in FIG. 4 this results in the feed duct 16 being tilted at said angle so that the axis of the ball socket 17 is tilted and the ball socket becomes off-center in relation to the general center line of the blank. It is of course important that the throat 27 of the die shall first make engagement with the forward part of the blank a at a region which is spaced rearwards of the ball socket; for example at a region in the neighborhood of the plane of end face 20.

Since the angle of the tilt produced by this operation is half the cone angle of the extremity of the blank, it follows that one side of the conical extremity is brought into alignment with the remainder of the blank as shown at the left of the writing extremity as viewed in FIG. 4. The completed writing extremity, indicated at 31, is in condition to have a reservoir applied to it.

Experience has shown that the tilting process, as described above and hereinafter, may introduce ovality of the tapered forward part of the nib 31 in sectional planes normal to the tilted axis of the socket 17, which in turn may modify the gap or clearance between the ball 18 and its housing and may therefore have a detrimental effect on the writing trace. Therefore, in order to cancel the ovality effect the collar or die 26 may have an elliptical or oval bore, the major axis of which is disposed in the plane of tilt. It has been found this minimises or substantially avoids distortion of the tapered forward part from its circular sectional shape. The ovality of the bore depends on the angle of tilt: the greater the angle of tilt the greater should be the ovality of the bore. For an angle of tilt E equal to half the included angle of taper, a suitable percentage ovality (i.e. the percentage by which the major axis exceeds the minor axis) is given by the expression 50(sin E tan 2E+2 cos E-Z). Thus for an angle of tilt of 13 and an included angle of taper of 26, the major axis should be 3% greater than the minor axis. The minor axis is, of course, equal to the final dimension of the blank, at the large end of the tapered portion, in a direction normal to the plane of tilt.

The operations illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 are designed to ensure that the region at which the blank is bent is further displaced from the ball socket, and the extent of the socket offset is greater, than results from the sequence illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. There is employed a drawing die 26a having a throat 27a slightly smaller than the external diameter of the blank 10 with a tapered lead or entry 28a of preferably 16 degrees included angle. The size of the throat 27a is such that the die makes contact with the tapered extremity of the blank rearwards of the ball socket and desirably in the region of the shoulder or face 14 of the bore 13. At this region the ratio of the internal diameter to the external diameter is within the range 0.65 to 0.85 as hereinbefore specified. The mandrel 29a is slightly smaller in diameter than the bore 13 of the blank and has an oblique end face 30.

The mandrel is applied slightly eccentrically to the interior of the blank (the degree of eccentricity being exaggerated in FIG. 5 and its toe or point makes contact with the extreme corner of shoulder 14. As the blank 10 is thus thrust through the die against the resistance afforded by the constricting throat 27a the forward part of the blank is tilted sideways at an angle substantially the same as that of the end face 30, the region of the bend being in the neighborhood of the shoulder 14. The resultant finished Writing extremity is indicated at 32 in FIG. 6.

The mandrels employed in the methods so far described have an oblique end face which causes the thrust on the blank to have a component producing a bending moment on the forward end of the blank and/ or to stretch one side of the blank. This is advantageous because the angle of the end face of the mandrel regulates the angle through which the blank is bent. It will be appreciated that the oblique end face need not lie in a plane; for example it may be convex. The heel of the end face may be rounded. Furthermore the desired bending moment or stretch may be produced by other shapes of the mandrel end and FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the use of a mandrel 29d which is cut away as at 37 so that its reduced end face 38 engages the shoulder 14 (or, if desired, the end face 20) eccentrically. For example the mandrel may be cut away for approximately half its area. Such a mandrel is employed to force the blank 10 through the throat 27a of the die 26a thereby resulting in a completed writing extremity as shown at 39 in FIG. 8. The extent to which the end face of the mandrel is cut away influences the angle through which the front part of the blank is tilted.

In all the methods herein set out, the principal dimensions of the blank 10 may be as follows:

Outside diameter=0.104" (2.64 mm).

Diameter of bore 13:0.086" (2.18 mm.).

Diameter of bore 15:0.055 (1.40 mm.).

The throat diameter of the various dies may be as follows:

Dies 22 and 26b=0.080" (2.03 mm.).

Dies 26 and 260:0.075" (1.90 mm.).

Dies 26a and 26d=0.095" (2.41 mm.).

FIG. 9 illustrates a writing instrument according to the above-identified copending Fehling and Street application for Ball Point Writing Instrument which discloses a ballpoint writing instrument in which the shaft or casing has its forward end tapered and in which the writing extremity is an attenuated tubular member having the ball socket at its forward end and containing the feed duct leading to the socket and in which the writing extremity for at least part of its length is mounted along the tapered exterior of the shaft or casing and the ball is disposed at or near the longitudinal axis of the instrument and preferably has a slight trail, i.e. follows slightly behind the intersection of the axis of the shaft or casing with the writing surface on a downward writing stroke.

In this instance the writing instrument 41 incorporates a removable refill 40 having a writing extremity 32 according to this invention and a tubular capillary reservoir 33. The refill 40 is housed in a groove or channel 42 extending along the top of the shaft 41 of the writing instrument. The general center line or axis of the writing instrument is indicated at 43, and the center line of the ball socket and feed duct at 44. The tubular member 33 is of capillary internal size and, as already stated, may itself constitute the reservoir or may have the reservoir attached to it. Towards the forward end this tubular member has an external diameter which is about the same as, or slightly less than that of the blank 10 from which the writing extremity 32 is made but its forward end 33a is reduced in diameter so as to fit in the bore 13.

Turning now to FIGS. 10-12, the die 46 resembles a washer. It has a central hole 47 of such size as to be capable of initially making contact with the nose 11 of the blank at a position rearwards of the ball socket. This hole 47 is desirably chamfered as shown to give an entry preferably 30 degrees included angle. Specifically the diameter of the hole 47 is 0.010" smaller than that of member 33. The outer periphery of the die has a configuration appropriate to a key or guide for the unit, being for example formed with a recess resembling a key-way; or a flat or a protruding tongue or key.

The die 46 is removably mounted in a holder or collet 51 having a key 52 to engage the formation 48, 49, or 50 and thereby to determine the orientation of said formation. The tubular member 33 is likewise removably fixed in a holder or collet 53. The end face 30 of said member has an oblique formation for the purpose of producing the desired tilt of the nose 11. In order to achieve a predetermined orientation between the plane in which the nose is tilted (and the ball socket is offset) and the key formation, it is necessary that there shall be a predetermined orientation between the end face 30 of member 33 as held in collet 53 and the said formation of the die 46 as held in collet 51. It is possible to cut the oblique end face 30 before inserting the member 33 in 7 its collet, and then to orientate member 33 in its collet, but it is preferred to cut the oblique end face 30 at the correct orientation after inserting the member 33 in its collet.

The blank 10 is placed on the reduced end of the member 33 and then, by relative approach movement between the two collets 51, 53, the die 46 is first caused to engage the nose of the blank rearwards (i.e. below, in FIG. 11) the ball socket, and is then forced over the blank 10 and onto the member 33 to a position intermediate the ends of the latter, as shown in FIG. 12.

As the die is forced over the blank, there is a thrust between end faces 14 and 30 which, owing to the obliquity of end face 30 and or to the fact that the point of member 33 engages face 14 at an off-center location, results in the nose 11 being canted sideways to produce the desired offset of the ball 18 and its socket. This sideways cant is in a plane normal to the plane of end face 30 and of predetermined orientation in relation to the key formation. In its further passage over the blank, the die 46 squeezes the skirt 12 onto the reduced end 33a so that the complete nib 32 (FIG. 12) is firmly fixed to member 33. In its final position the die 46 is adapted to form a key or guide for the component (indicated generally by the reference 54). Its key formation has a predetermined orientation in relation to the plane in which the socket has been offset. For example the radial center line of the formation may lie in said plane.

The die 46 thus fixed to the unit 54 as a key (and hereinafter referred to as such) may form an abutment for the location of the reservoir on the rear end of member 33.

The offset of the mandrel illustrated by way of example in FIGS. and 7 may be produced by arranging the axes of the mandrel and die substantially horizontally and resting the blank on the end of the mandrel.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments, many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. A method of making a writing extremity having an offset ball socket for a ball point writing instrument from a blank which includes a ball-receiving socket portion at the forward end and a rearwardly extending tubular portion comprising applying a longitudinal restraining force to the blank symmetrically about its axis and applying to the blank at a location laterally displaced from the axis of the tubular portion by relative motion of a member in a direction parallel to the axis of the blank a component of force directed generally parallel to the axis of the tubular portion so as to tilt the axis of the socket portion with respect to the axis of the tubular portion.

2. A method of making a writing extremity having an offset ball socket for a ball point Writing instrument from a blank which includes a ball-receiving socket portion at the forward end, a rearwardly extending tubular portion, and an intermediate portion joining the socket portion and the tubular portion and having an abutment which extends transversely to the axis of the tubular portion comprising applying a longitudinal restraining force to the blank symmetrically about its axis and applying to the abutment at a location laterally spaced from the axis of the tubular portion by relative motion of a member in a direction parallel to the axis of the blank a component of force directed generally parallel to the axis of the tubular portion so as to tilt the axis of the socket portion with respect to the axis of the tubular portion.

3. A method of making a Writing extremity having an offset ball socket for a ball point writing instrument from a blank which includes a ball-receiving socket portion at 8 the forward end, a rearwardly extending tubular portion, and an intermediate portion joining the socket portion and the tubular portion and having an internal abutment which extends transversely to the axis of the tubular portion comprising disposing the blank between a collar arranged to engage the outer surface of the blank at a region rearward of the ball-receiving socket in the socket portion and an opposed mandrel member arranged to engage the abutment at a location laterally spaced from the axis of the tubular portion, and applying to the blank, by relative axial movement between the collar and the mandrel member, a component of force directed generally parallel to the axis of the tubular portion and applied to the abutment at a location laterally displaced from the axis of the tubular portion so as to tilt the axis of the socket portion with respect to the axis of the tubular portion.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the blank is prevented from passing through the collar upon application of the component of force to the blank.

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the blank is driven completely through the collar by application of the component of force to the blank.

6. A method according to claim 3 wherein the component of force is applied to the abutment at a region which is axially spaced from the region of engagement of the collar with the outer surface of the blank.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the component of force is applied to the abutment at a region spaced rearwardly from the region of engagement of the collar with the outer surface of the blank.

8. A method according to claim 3 wherein the component of force is applied to the abutment at a location spaced rearwardly from the center of the ball-receiving socket by a distance at least three times the diameter of a ball adapted to be received in the socket.

9. A method according to claim 3 wherein the mandrel member is positioned eccentrically in the tubular blank portion during application of the component of force.

10. A method according to claim 3 in which the mandrel member has an oblique end face so as to engage the abutment eccentrically to the axis of the tubular portion.

11. A method according to claim 3 wherein the mandrel member is tubular and including the step of forcing the blank at least partially through the collar so as to reduce the diameter of the tubular portion and affix it to the mandrel member.

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the collar has a key formation and the mandrel member has a diameter slightly larger than the opening in the collar and including the step of driving the collar onto the mandrel member so that it provides a key for the assembled mandrel member and blank.

13. A method according to claim 3 wherein the blank includes a second internal abutment spaced rearwardly from the aforesaid internal abutment and including the additional steps of disposing the writing extremity with the tilted socket portion between a collar arranged to engage the outer surface of the writing extremity at u region rearward of the first aforesaid abutment and an opposed mandrel member arranged to engage the second abutment at a location laterally spaced from the axis of the tubular portion on the side opposite to the side toward which the socket portion is tilted, and applying, by relative axial movement between the collar and the mandrel member, a component of force directed generally parallel to the axis of the tubular portion and applied to the second abutment at a location laterally displaced from the axis of the tubular portion so as to tilt further the axis of the socket portion with respect to the axis of the tubular portion.

14. A method for making a writing extremity having an offset ball socket for a ball point writing instrument from a blank which includes a ball-receiving socket portion at the forward end, a rearwardly extending tubular portion, and an intermediate portion joining the socket portion and the tubular portion and having an internal abutment which extends transversely to the axis of the tubular portion comprising disposing the blank between a collar having a key formation and arranged to engage the outer surface of the blank rearwardly of the ballreceiving socket in the socket portion and an opposed tubular mandrel member arranged to engage the abutment at a location laterally spaced from the axis of the tubular portion comprising inserting the mandrel memher into the tubular portion so as to engage the abutment at the laterally spaced location, and, by relative axial movement between the mandrel member and the collar, forcing the collar over the blank and onto the mandrel member so that the tubular portion of the lilank is reduced in diameter so as to aflix it to the mandrel member and so that the axis of the socket portion is tilted with respect to the axis of the tubular portion and the l 0 collar becomes aflixed to the mandrel member with the key formation oriented in predetermined angular relation to the plane of tilting of the socket portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CHARLIE T. MOON, Primary Examiner.

LAWRENCE CHARLES, WHITMORE A. WILTZ,

Examiners. E. HOROWITZ, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF MAKING A WRITING EXTREMITY HAVING AN OFFSET BALL SOCKET FOR A BALL POINT WRITING INSTRUMENT FROM A BLANK WHICH INCLUDES A BALL-RECEIVING SOCKET PORTION AT THE FORWARD END AND A REARWARDLY EXTENDING TUBULAR PORTION COMPRISING APPLYING A LONGITUDINAL RESTRAINING FORCE TO THE BLANK SYMMETRICALLY ABOUT ITS AXIS AND APPLYING TO THE BLANK AT A LOCATION LATERALLY DISPLACED FROM THE AXIS OF THE TUBULAR PORTION BY RELATIVE MOTION OF A MEMBER IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF THE BLANK A COMPONENT OF FORCE DIRECTED GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF THE TUBULAR PORTION SO AS TO TILT THE AXIS OF THE SOCKET PORTION WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF THE TUBULAR PORTION.
 14. A METHOD OF MAKING A WRITING EXTREMITY HAVING AN OFFSET BALL SOCKET FOR A BALL POINT WRITING INSTRUMENT FROM A BLANK WHICH INCLUDES A BALL-RECEIVING SOCKET PORTION AT THE FORWARD END, A REARWARDLY EXTENDING TUBULAR PORTION, AND AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION JOINING THE SOCKET PORTION AND THE TUBULAR PORTION AND HAVING AN INTERNAL ABUTMENT WHICH EXTENDS TRANSVERSELY TO THE AXIS OF THE TUBULAR PORTION COMPRISING DISPOSING THE BLANK BETWEEN A COLLAR HAVING A KEY FORMATION AND ARRANGED TO ENGAGE THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE BLANK REARWARDLY OF THE BALL- 